Muggles

A Muggle is the wizarding term for a person who possesses no innate magical ability and is born to non-magical parents. Muggles constitute the vast majority of the human population, living largely in ignorance of the hidden wizarding world. The term is fundamentally a descriptor of magical status rather than a specific ethnicity or nationality. While Muggles cannot perform magic, they have developed their own complex societies and technologies, such as electricity, aviation, and computers, which are often poorly understood and viewed with curiosity by many witches and wizards. It is important to distinguish a Muggle from a Squib. A Squib is a non-magical individual born to at least one magical parent. This distinction is crucial in matters of blood status, as a Squib has magical ancestry, whereas a Muggle does not. Argus Filch, the caretaker at Hogwarts, is a known Squib.

Attitudes towards Muggles within the wizarding world vary widely, ranging from benign curiosity to violent prejudice.

• Curiosity and Ignorance: Many wizards, having grown up in magical society, are unfamiliar with Muggle life. This can manifest as a patronizing but harmless fascination. Arthur Weasley, for example, has an enthusiastic hobby of collecting and enchanting Muggle artifacts, though he often misunderstands their function, such as his query about the “function of a rubber duck.” This ignorance is also visible when wizards attempt to blend in with Muggles, often choosing bizarre and mismatched Muggle clothing.
• Prejudice and Supremacy: A significant and dangerous faction of the wizarding community, particularly those who subscribe to pure-blood ideology, views Muggles as inferior beings. Families like the Malfoys, the House of Black, and the Gaunts hold deep-seated contempt for Muggles and those with Muggle ancestry. This prejudice is the root of the highly offensive slur Mudblood, used to denigrate Muggle-born witches and wizards.
• Violent Persecution: The most extreme anti-Muggle sentiment was embodied by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Their ideology called for the subjugation of Muggles and the purification of the wizarding race. During both the First Wizarding War and Second Wizarding War, Death Eaters frequently terrorized, tortured, and murdered Muggles for sport and to spread fear. Notable victims include Frank Bryce and Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts.

The relationship between the magical and non-magical communities is officially governed by a strict policy of separation, enforced by the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. This law was enacted to hide the existence of magic from Muggles, primarily to prevent widespread panic and persecution of wizards by the non-magical majority. The Ministry of Magic has several departments dedicated to managing interactions and maintaining secrecy:

• The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office is responsible for retrieving and de-charming Muggle items that have been bewitched.
• The Obliviator Headquarters dispatches wizards to modify the memories of Muggles who have witnessed magic, using the Memory Charm (Obliviate).
• The Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee is tasked with creating non-magical explanations for major magical accidents that are noticeable to Muggles.

A unique exception to the rule of separation is the formal link between the Minister for Magic and the Muggle Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Minister for Magic traditionally introduces themself to a new Prime Minister shortly after they take office and provides briefings on matters of extreme importance that threaten both worlds, such as the escape of Sirius Black or the return of Lord Voldemort.

Despite the Statute of Secrecy, a few Muggles become aware of the wizarding world, typically through a magical relative or a direct, significant encounter with magic.

• The Dursley family: Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley, and Dudley Dursley were fully aware of magic due to Petunia's sister, Lily Potter, being a Muggle-born witch. They harbored a deep fear and hatred of magic.
• The Grangers: Hermione Granger's parents were dentists who knew of and were proud of their daughter's magical abilities. To protect them from Death Eaters, Hermione modified their memories during the Second Wizarding War, making them forget her entirely and move to Australia.
• The Muggle Prime Minister: Is kept informed of major crises in the wizarding world.
• Frank Bryce: The Riddle family's gardener, who was murdered by Lord Voldemort in the Riddle House after overhearing his plans.
• The Riddle family: Tom Riddle Sr. and his parents were murdered by their own descendant, Tom Marvolo Riddle, in an act of patricide.

The term Muggle was created by author J.K. Rowling. She stated that it is derived from the English word “mug,” a slang term for a person who is easily fooled or a fool. The suffix “-gle” was added to soften the term and make it sound “a bit cuddlier” and less insulting. (J.K. Rowling interview)

• The word “Muggle” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003, with its definition expanded beyond the Harry Potter context to mean “a person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill.”
• In the American wizarding community, the equivalent term for a non-magical person is No-Maj, which is a portmanteau of “No Magic.” (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film series, Pottermore)